Yesterday, the Grand Junction Police Department responded to two incidents which resulted in two local schools being put into shelter in place and lockdown.

At approximately 1:30pm, officers attempted to contact Austin Cook, 19, who was known to have outstanding warrants for his arrest, in the 500 Block of N 2nd Street. Cook fled from officers, who pursued on foot. Cook was observed in the area of the shopping center on the northwest corner of 1st Street and Grand Avenue. Due to the proximity to Dual Immersion Academy, the school was advised to institute shelter in place until the situation was under control. Cook was placed into custody within minutes of the incident beginning. He was found to have a loaded handgun in the backpack he was carrying. Ultimately, Cook was remanded to the Mesa County Jail for multiple warrants, as well as charges of Obstructing a Peace Officer (M2), 2nd Degree Criminal Trespass, Unlawfully Carrying a Concealed Weapon (M2), Possession of Handguns by Juveniles (M2), and Illegal Possession of Marijuana Paraphernalia. Cook was also charged with a robbery that occurred on November 8 in the 200 Block of Chipeta Avenue, and booked on those related charges, as well.

Shortly after that incident, at about 2:15pm, dispatch received a 911 call from a staff member at Landmark Baptist Church, located at 1600 Ute Avenue. The staff member stated that two young students of the private school there witnessed an armed male attempt to enter a locked door at the school. Officers responded immediately and the school was placed in lockdown. Multiple officers searched the surrounding area for the suspect, based on the description provided by the students, as well as additional officers who stayed inside the school with staff and students. Approximately an hour later, a male was arrested for felony menacing in the 2800 Block of North Avenue for threatening a victim with a machete. The suspect somewhat matched the description provided by the students at Landmark, but he has not been associated to that incident at this time.

Please remember that you can sign up for security alerts through Mesa County Valley School District 51 through their website here. If your child attends a school that is not associated to the School District, we recommend that you reach out to their administrators to find out how emergency communications are shared with parents. The protection of children in our community is paramount to the Grand Junction Police Department. We appreciate the cooperation and support of school staff, students, and parents in partnering with us to keep them safe.

About This Blog:

The Grand Junction Police Department is committed to providing you information and updates, straight from the source.

This blog is used to keep you informed on interesting cases, important safety information, community events, and general news involving this department.

Please make sure to enter your email address and follow this blog so you can receive instant updates anytime we post something new.

We strive to be as transparent as possible so we appreciate your desire to participate in two-way communication with us.

Comments that relate to the topic at hand, whether you agree or disagree, are encouraged and appreciated.

If your comments are appropriate and relevant, they will remain on our page. If you post a comment that appears to be based on misinformation or incomplete information, we will respond as quickly as possible to answer questions you may have or provide more data, details or specifics.

Respectful disagreement is fine, but abuse is not. You are welcome to air your disagreement with us - we know not everyone will agree with everything we do or everything we post. We ask is that you keep your posts respectful and civil.

We will not tolerate language that is abusive toward the Grand Junction Police Department or the City of Grand Junction, its employees, or toward anyone who comments on our page. If your posts are offensive, denigrating, insulting or unrelated to the topic, they will be deleted.

Posts that will be deleted include:
• Language or innuendo that is profane in nature;
• Content that is sexual in nature or links to sexual content;
• Content that is rude including personal attacks on anyone’s character or appearance;
• Content that in any manner promotes discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, marital status, physical or mental disability, sexual identification or orientation, or national origin;
• Solicitations of any type;
• Spam;
• Content that could be considered illegal or that promotes illegality;
• Content that could compromise safety;
• Content that violates the legal rights or interests of any person.

Opinions expressed by visitors to this blog do not reflect the opinions of the Grand Junction Police Department.

More information about the Grand Junction Police Department can also be found on our website: www.gjcity.org/GJPD.

This blog is updated and monitored by the GJPD Public Information Coordinator, Heidi Davidson.